


Remembrance

by ShatteredSwallowtail



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 13:03:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20546618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShatteredSwallowtail/pseuds/ShatteredSwallowtail





	Remembrance

Squinting up at the sky, Hiyori's frown deepened even further -- if something like that was really possible -- as she shifted with a sigh, leaning back against the bars. Most people would likely have found it awkward, sitting perched ion one of the many rungs of a kids' jungle gym, but she didn't really care. A perch was a perch, there didn't really seem to be much point in worrying about whether said perch was really what most would classify as "comfortable". At least, that's what Hiyori thought of it. Frowning again, she carefully folded her arms behind her head, brown eyes upturned to the gray sky overhead. She hated weather like this. Not a storm, not even rain. Just thick, heavy gray clouds, hanging low in the sky with an air of despondence and brooding, as though rather than pour out their bounty upon the earth they preferred to simply loom with a foreboding darkness.

It was these days that -- putting aside the fact she just didn't like them -- made the memories seem that much stronger, that much more stark in her mind. It had been a long time, a very long time really, since any of them had really sat and talked about their past, despite the fact that she knew perfectly well that it was on all of their minds, all of the time. The fact that their former lives, no matter how hard they'd worked, how much they'd slaved and scraped and tried, all of that was so much nothing now. Faded shadows of a past they could never return to.

Her reverie was broken by the thunk of rubber against metal and the slight shake of the structure as Shinji's lanky frame settled against it a few feet from her, his head resting against the bar beside her feet. Really rather dumb of him, seeing as how he'd just _voluntarily_ put himself in easy kick range. Not that she currently had a reason to kick him, but that was of little importance, seeing as she seldom really _needed_ such a reason and that had never stopped her before.

She gave him a slight nudge to the side of his head, more of a warning than anything else, in case he was thinking of pulling any sort of trick. He was the type, obviously, to do something just because he knew it would piss her off. It was one of the things she hated -- and yes she _did_ hate it, no matter what anyone else said -- about him. But then... it was also one of the things that she knew was a constant with him. Just like the cheshire grin, the stupid hat, even the loping almost swaggering walk he always had. And in a strange way... those constants were comforting.

Shinji smirked slightly at the nudge of sandaled foot against the side of his head. He recognized it, not only for what it obviously was -- a warning of what she might choose to do -- but for the less obvious aspect of it as well. A reassurance, perhaps to him, but more likely to herself, that he was there. That despite the fact that so much in their lives had changed, so much had been thrown asunder, a few things were still the same. Leaning his head back, he stared up at the gray sky overhead.

"Looks like rain."

She nodded, stretching hands over her head and cracking her knuckles. He was stating the obvious, more as a conversation-starter than anything else, and she was well aware he knew it as much as she did. Truthfully, if any of the others had seen them like this, sitting quietly beside one another, harsh words and sandals and scowls conspicuously absent, they'd likely have thought they were seeing things. But then, that was why they didn't behave this way around their friends. It wasn't as though the others didn't know the depth of the bond between the two. They did. But it was still something hidden, something they didn't discuss, didn't display.

It was always like that, and it had been since they could remember. A shadowy, hidden thing, kept under wraps and never referred to, never touched upon. And really... they didn't need to. Not because either of them really tried to ignore it, or pretend it wasn't there, but just because honestly... they'd never _needed_ to. They simply _were_. Without reason, without explanations or excuses. It was one of the reasons why they just _worked_. She didn't need to convey what he already knew.

"Easy" had never really described it, and it certainly didn't describe what they had now. "Easy" was for people who didn't have to spend their lives hiding and running and defending against those who would destroy them simply for existing. But that was alright. They didn't _need_ easy. They just needed what they had.

Nodding again, Hiyori shifted slightly, one hand dropping down to rest on the bar right beside his, but not quite touching. It wasn't necessary, after all. The past... it didn't deserve dwelling on, because it didn't matter. It was a whole other lifetime away, and just like so much else, it just _was_.

"Yeah... it does."


End file.
